“We are very satisfied with our sales development in April,” says Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Our products are very popular with customers and we grew at a double-digit rate in nearly all markets. It’s a great start into the second quarter during which we plan to substantially boost sales. In line with the sales development, our incoming orders have increased significantly as well. That is particularly due to the high demand in China and the U.S. and the great success of the E and S-Class.”

The Chinese market continues to be one of the main growth drivers. At 11,300 units (April 2009: 5,600), Mercedes-Benz posted a new sales record in the country and again doubled the number of its deliveries. Within the Asia-Pacific region, the brand’s deliveries rose by 26 percent in Japan and by 36 percent in Australia. Mercedes-Benz also grew at a double-digit rate in the BRIC countries of India (plus 95 percent), Brazil (plus 77 percent), and Russia (plus 50 percent).

The positive trend of the past several months has also continued in the U.S., with sales there rising by 21 percent to 17,600 units (April 2009: 14,600). Mercedes-Benz was therefore the German premium brand with the highest sales volume in the country, enabling it to gain market share. In fact, Mercedes-Benz has been the German premium brand with the highest market share in the U.S. since the beginning of the year.

Mercedes-Benz delivered 24,200 passenger vehicles (April 2009: 23,000) to Western Europe (excluding Germany) in April, representing an increase of six percent on the same month last year. High growth rates were recorded for example in the UK (plus 12 percent), Belgium (plus 14 percent) and Austria (plus 27 percent).

Mercedes-Benz sold 21,600 units in Germany in April, thus nearly matching the level reached last year (April 2009: 22,100). Mercedes-Benz was able to buck the overall market trend and gained market share in April. Mercedes-Benz thus remains the most successful premium automaker on its home market.

Within the product portfolio, the new models of the E-Class continued to post very strong growth, with customer deliveries of the sedan rising by 52 percent to 17,200 units. That result once again put it far ahead of its competitors. The E-Class convertible, which reached showrooms on March 27, is also very popular with customers. A total of 4,700 S-Class sedans were delivered to customers in April, up seven percent on the same month last year. The C-Class is also very popular, with deliveries of the sedan up by eight percent to 19,600 units, while deliveries of the station wagon even rose by 19 percent.

A total of 9,000 (April 2009: 10,200) smart fortwo were delivered worldwide in April (minus 11 percent). The company expects sales of the smart brand to get a boost from the market launch of the new-generation smart fortwo, which will start in the third quarter of 2010.